Wish's End
by tremor3258
Summary: Completed! It's the end for just about everyone. Will Skuld's plan succeed?
1. Prologue-Terror

Wish's End

  
  


Prologue: Terror

  
  


OMG AU/Divergence Fanfic

  
  


by Tremor3258

  
  


Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Studio Proteus have the American pieces to this, and Fujishima-sama wrote and inked it originally. This work isn't intended to subtract from any of their rights. Now if they'd just reprint Love Potion No. 9 so I could finish off my collection...

  
  


Notes: This fic's direct divergence point is simple: Skuld got recalled to Heaven after she created the Rice Cooker of Doom a.k.a. Mr. Bug Zapper, but before the 'Terrible Master' storyline.

  
  


*******************

  
  


Yggdrasil was typically a relatively calm place. Not really sedate, as the various technicians were engaged in a constant struggle, even with godly speed factored in, to keep up with the ever-expanding demands on the universe's most advanced computer system. However, the seal had been broken, and the Lord of Terror had risen again. Last time, it had been a desperate battle right outside the gates of the central core of the computer itself, in which Kami-sama had barely been able to stop the Lord of Terror and seal him away, suffering horrible injuries in the process. Even so, the Lord of Terror had been able to spread his program through the demons, waiting for the day of his unsealing.

  
  


Skuld worked frantically at a control system, trying not to gawk at Kami-sama being in Yggdrasil's main operation room, fully girded for battle. She hadn't been alive at the last battle, it had been two previous holders of the domain of the future; and the Almighty rarely came into Yggdrasil. The fact that Kami-sama was expecting a major battle that he might not win was something Skuld was trying very hard not to think about.

  
  


Better to focus on the work. Skuld was currently weaving together a new set of protocols to help Belldandy. Her dear sister was busy fighting for everyone on Earth with little support, as the gods were unwilling to open a connection between heaven and the mortal realms that the Lord of Terror could simply walk through. Well, Urd was there, for whatever good that did, but Skuld had heard some disturbing whispers.

  
  


Skuld shook herself. The lord of creation had entrusted her with this task, and she would succeed. The new programs Skuld were putting into place would allow almost all of the mighty computer's resources to be cleared easily. Keeping the system off-line for too long would lead to more bugs being generated through reality, but with all of the Yggdrasil system, then Skuld presumed Kami-sama would be able to open a secure gate to allow heaven's armies to help Belldandy.

  
  


Suddenly, the system status board changed, but Skuld didn't notice it, too enmeshed into her work and visions of her being the great heroine who saved the universe. Peorth, one of the few unlimited first-class goddesses, did, however from her status of running the operations room with most of the Offices shut down to conserve resources. "Midgard program has been unleashed! Vaccination proceeding." Most of the deities relaxed as Fenrir disappeared from their scans, but things got twice as chaotic when the program was detected again, within the Serpents themselves.

  
  


Peorth slumped over. She couldn't help it, as it didn't take a goddess to see what would likely come next. Midgard was very nearly the last hope before they would be forced to go into a battle that would probably destroy a great deal of the solar system. The vaccine program had been modeled after Yggdrasil's Midgard operating system, the serpent that held reality in its coils, and it had been a greatly desperate maneuver when it had been tried last time by feeding Yggdrasil through the Lord of Terror. Luckily, the antithesis of reality had been no match for the raw power unleashed, but it seemed the Lord of Terror had learned subtlety. Now, the super-string had been unveiled, and if Midgard could cut it, all their efforts would be for nothing.

  
  


Kami-sama, however, remained calm despite the aura of hopelessness that hung over the room. After all, he had instructed Belldandy to read the manual. His hopes were confirmed. Midgard may have been granted a different will, but it would still respond to its old programming. The highest of the high allowed himself a small grin when he saw Midgard's icon began to fluctuate. 

  
  


Belldandy, down below, had slight tears in her eyes as she played the serpent's funeral dirge. Midgard had been unleashed by her, and now it was being pulled from the world and existence due to her mistake. She should have been faster, or more careful, but Keiichi was reduced to a handy carrying size, and Urd's power had been drained by the Lord of Terror. Right now she was unconscious, having fired off what few bolts she had left to buy Belldandy some time to confirm she had the right song. 

  
  


The virus, desperately, swung around for a new host, spotting Urd's sleeping form. She had been an easy target last time, and as the serpent continued to wither, it lunged towards her, fangs extended. However, it discounted the presence of one shrunken mortal. With a tiny battle cry, Keiichi rammed the snake in the snout, disorienting it sufficiently to allow Belldandy to finish. Keiichi tumbled to the rubble-strewn ground, holding a hand up in a victory sign. Urd, still sleeping, took that moment to roll over. Keiichi shrieked and Belldandy barely managed to get to him before he suffered a most humiliating death. 

  
  


"Are you all right?" Belldandy asked, tears in her eyes. Keiichi had gotten hurt, a fall from that height in miniaturized form couldn't be healthy. 

  
  


"Heh, heh!" Keiichi said, weakly raising up a victory sign again, "Did it!" 

  
  


Up in heaven, cheers broke out from all assembled. The virus had vanished from their screens. Peorth, however, wasn't inclined to think things would go that easily today. "Why's the super-string program still visible?" Peorth demanded.

  
  


Chrono, a young goddess with brown hair, though completed with her training, unlike Skuld, flashed her hands across the keyboard in front of her, "I'm not sure. I don't usually have access privileges to something that high!"she practically wailed, "I can't bring up any diagnostics to it. I'm locked out!" 

  
  


Peorth grimaced and flew across the room, knocking the operator aside with only a slight apologetic gesture, focused on the details. When Peorth tried to bring up the diagnostic, she only got static. Peorth started to try again frantically, but a deeply powerful male voice cut her off.

  
  


"Enough," heads turned throughout the room as Kami-sama frowned at the readouts. "The Virus may still be active. Try and get a connection through to Belldandy. Skuld, I believe we may need that program after all." Skuld's expression was set with determination, though her faced warmed at being singled out.

  
  


Back on Earth, things had apparently been proceeding nicely. The flute was tucked under one of Belldandy's arms with Urd being guided (assisted by a levitation spell) in the other, with Keiichi riding on her collar. They quickly managed to reach the old temple grounds. Belldandy made a mental note that the front walk needed sweeping and the entire house needed reconstruction, she would get to those quickly, as it wouldn't be too much of a problem at full power. 

  
  


Urd awakened relatively quickly after a quick power transfer, and told Belldandy the password to set Keiichi back to his usual size. Belldandy frowned. For the system administrator to the most important computer in creation (or rather, OF creation) to rely on one old password seemed dangerously negligent, but this wasn't the time. Keiichi stretched once upon achieving full growth, and that's when everything went south.

  
  


Alarms Skuld didn't even know they HAD were going off through Yggdrasil. The virus had been found again, and Peorth was cursing fluently when the system picked up that the Ultimate Destruction Program had figured out how to jump to mortals, giving it plenty of choices. Kami-sama's face was set with hard lines. "Skuld, run your program. I want all possible system resources freed up." Skuld responded, eyes shut as she punched in the last command, hoping that a planet would still be around for her sister to stand on when she opened them. 

  
  


She cautiously raised one eyelid and barely refrained from cheering. Most of the readouts were black and deactivated. Skuld made sure her hammer was with her. The whole system would probably have to be debugged from the root out, and Skuld wished she hadn't eaten her last pint before this happened, because it was very likely she would be needing the recharge and have no time to acquire more. "Long hours without chocolate fudge," whimpered the young goddess. 

  
  


Skuld's current focus on dairy products meant she was possibly the only person in the room who missed what happened immediately next. The Lord of all creation didn't need to inform the computer for access. Root privileges had a whole different meaning at this level. Peorth's eyes had widened involuntarily as she stammered out, "Lord, that's the Gungnir program." She let out a small shriek when she saw a second icon join the first.

  
  


"I know," Kami-sama merely replied, "We've run out of choices. And thanks to Skuld, we have enough power to get both targets. We can't let the Lord of Terror run free. Yggdrasil. Target both demonic power sources."

  
  


"Complying," came back an electronically modulated voice. "Releasing all command locks on program. Authorization granted. All circuits devoted to firing procedures." 

  
  


"Lord," said Peorth urgently, "I studied with Belldandy for several years, and though she's occasionally annoying, she's a model to us all. She won't let anyone die if she can help it. Gungnir will just tax resources." The first-class goddess was cut off by a brusque word. 

"Enough! I have taken Belldandy's nature into account here. Thus, a well-timed blow is almost more important than a well-placed blow." With that, Kami-sama slammed down on the first firing trigger, and closed his eyes for two seconds before slamming down on the second one. 

Keiichi, possessed, and triumphant, cackled madly, "The flute is in my hands! The superstring is unveiled! There's nothing you can do to stop me." In response, the skies crackled with energy, and a bolt of light appeared. "Ah, so you decided to take a more personnel role, eh, Lord? Planning to crush me like a bug?" 

  
  


Belldandy traced the light path and gasped in horror. One of heaven's final weapons was into play, and it was headed towards the somnolent Urd. Evidently heaven still thought she was possessed. Belldandy leaped over, ignoring Keiichi as she glomped around her sister. Gungnir had surprisingly narrow targeting profiles, and Belldandy's access protocols were high enough for Gungnir to dissipate rather than harm her. Against the proper target, if Gungnir made contact with whatever it had been targeted against, it would prove fatal in all cases, no matter what the target was. Belldandy, however, merely grunted slightly as the energy bolt's dissipation knocked some air from her, despite cracking like thunder, echoing rather loudly.

  
  


Belldandy's eyes widened. The first echo had sounded easily as loud as the thunder crack from the energy bolt dissipating. Belldandy looked around frantically, wondering if Keiichi had gotten burned possibly by the bolt. 

There was some ash in the area, but no sign of Keiichi. Where he had been standing, there was a slight blackening of the old wood, and an inch-thick bore dug in, like a projectile moving at insanely fast velocities. 

  
  


"Keiichi! Keiichi!" Belldandy said more and more frantically, as she crumpled to the ground, her world shattered before blackness mercifully enveloped her.

  
  


"I'm detecting a massive energy reaction at the site!" Chrono said urgently, "We can't contain it! Most of Yggdrasil's resources are still being diverted back from," Chrono swallowed. She had been part, a small part, but one nonetheless; of an intelligent being's murder. She found her voice after a moment, "The Gungnir strikes," she finished lamely. Skuld, watching the devastation whose heart was her sister, broke into tears. 

  
  


Peorth turned to see Kami-sama's reaction, but he had already left the room, the bloody deed done. The only sound in the stricken control room was the sobbing of a young goddess. 

  
  


To be continued...

  
  


Author's Notes:

  
  


Yeah, this is going to be dark. It got inspired a lot by recently seeing the movie. Specifically, Morgan, who somehow struck me as what Belldandy could possibly turn out as if Keiichi was lost to her. So, I thought of a possible situation to what could cause it. Technically, this is a possible time line, a dark one, that the characters will try and change. The actual change: what if there were a few less bugs running around, leaving Skuld no real reason not to be recalled back to preforming maintenance on the system.

  
  


Gungnir, the spear of Odin's name comes from the movie, but the way it's deployed is more similar to how it was deployed in the manga during the Terrible Master arc. There, Belldandy shielded Keiichi, possessed, with her body, and evidently the Almighty wasn't quite ready to sacrifice a goddess first class. Skuld clearing out the system in this time line allowed two shots, as the movie evidenced that Gungnir took a lot of resources (and I'm assuming Yggdrasil got upgraded a bit while the system was down post Lord of Terror, which is why it takes nearly everything here but Yggdrasil pulled it off at six percent power in the movie). And everyone's favorite mechaphile would do very well at this sort of thing is she had someone debugging her code (she does tend to get impetuous). 

  
  


Skuld didn't contribute a lot up to this period, besides giving Urd some extra firepower through the Terrible Master arc. Without Skuld, Urd drained herself rather than throwing all the Skuld Bombs at once. Skuld later saved the day with the floppy, but not before failing to read the manual, critically slowing things down enough to allow the superstring to be revealed, and constructing the scythe. As Skuld also wasn't there to help dig Belldandy out of the rubble of Mara's lair, Fenrir got enough time to reveal the superstring in this time line prior to his defeat. Everything else went pretty much how it went up in the manga right up to heaven's last ditch attempt against the Lord of Terror.

  
  


One of my favorite surprise moments in the early manga was when 'Keiichi's' victory sign after stopping the snake turned out to be the Ultimate Destruction program crowing its save from being destroyed. This doesn't have to do a lot with the story, but I enjoyed the scene enough to leave it in when it doesn't add much at all to the story.

  
  


Belldandy losing control of her powers to strong emotion wasn't revealed at this point, but considering it occurs several times later (and that's when she's sealed up), a minor jealousy wave at full First-class level firepower would probably level half of Tokyo without her 'divine surge protector' to handle that sort of problem. 

  
  



	2. Chapter 1 - Graceless

Wish's End

  
  


Part 1: Graceless

  
  


OMG AU/Divergence Fanfic- you have been warned

  
  


by Tremor3258

  
  


Disclaimer: I don't own Oh My Goddess, if I did, I'd have arranged for a full theatrical release of the movie instead of having to wait until recently to buy the DVD. 

  
  


Note: Original divergence: Skuld was recalled following her introductory arc, giving the Almighty the opportunity to pull a fast one on Belldandy and erase the Lord of Terror. The problem with the termination something seeking the, uh, termination of all creation? He was in Keiichi's body.

  
  
  
  


***********************

  
  


Yggdrasil, the computer that ran reality, technically wasn't one computer as much as it was many computers linked together, each one dealing with a solar system, or sometimes a planet in the case of systems with multiple sentient species, which required a larger workload to handle. The compartmentalization of Heaven made some newcomers wonder how the relatively small control room they were introduced to could handle all of the universe, but the truth was, it didn't. Instead, each small computer fed into a larger computer whose job was typically to run a dimension or two, finally up to the true core of Yggdrasil, whose sole function was the operation of the entire universe.

  
  


Obviously, the higher up one moved in the hierarchy, the more power one held in a single console in a control room. Earth's room could do some minor damage to the local universe if you screwed around with it, but that was it. The only reason it had been used as the war room against the Lord of Terror was the fact that unsealing the higher level control rooms took several hours and involved defense systems of such complexity they made Gungnir look like a water pistol.

  
  


The reason for this was simple. The 'root' Yggdrasil had as its domain the entire universe. Many of its functions could be farmed out to lesser systems without accessing those higher level powers which were dangerous even if you knew what they were doing. Keeping Yggdrasil's core in a low-level function mode was a good way to keep bugs from being attracted. The change of a single bit at Yggdrasil's core could cause an entire dimension to fold up and vanish from existence without a trace. Events classified as world-shaking wouldn't even get a laugh from the people whose job was to decide who got access to this room.

  
  


These thoughts, or minor variations on them, had been running steadily through Urd's head for the last few months. The fact that the new management had decided to open the room and begin cracking the passwords on the primary programs had led Urd to protest. As a result, the new management had shut Urd out of the system, cutting her off from the usual source of her powers, and reducing her to manifesting in a child's body if she could keep her power up high enough via her alternate recharge system. 

  
  


Urd took another pull from her now ever-present bottle and looked at the central core of Yggdrasil. It was arranged quite a bit differently than the Earth control center, which fit current ideas of humanity's heaven with a bit of an angelic feel. The core of Yggdrasil was nothing more than a massive set of stops, pipes, and valves all seemingly hewn from a living tree. Until recent changes in administration, Urd had only gotten to see the control room once, during her training, with the caveat, "Pray that you never, ever, have to come into this room. But if you do, you'll need to know exactly what you're doing so PAY ATTENTION FOR ONCE!" 

  
  


Now, however, the room was very busy, frighteningly so to an old administrator like Urd. Several of Heaven's special guardians, white child-like figures, hovered over the scene. Normally they'd be busy restraining whoever broke into the holiest of places, but now they hovered, limply and blankly. An offshoot of the Angel power-booster program, the Guardians looked a lot like the Christian angels, but they're method of behavior was strictly old-testament. However, they weren't technically alive or sentient, merely being very well-programmed, until someone had gone through Yggdrasil's files and wiped out their minds, and with them, heaven's police force.

  
  


"Someone should at least let them close their eyes," Urd slurred slightly as she trotted forward slightly unsteadily. It had taken months for her to work up the courage to agree with the plan. The minor infractions she piled up were Urd's response to a fairly stifling system in which both choices open to her from her heritage were relatively unpalatable. However, upon given a chance to make a real difference, she had fled upon hearing the amount of personnel risk involved.

  
  


It had been weeks before she could force herself to look directly in the mirror again. Urd had protested against the current regime, and her emblem protocols had been trashed as a result, cutting her power down to almost nothing and reducing her to a pathetic child from her once glorious splendor. "I guess when you take away your power, Urd doesn't have a lot left," Keiichi had once said in passing. As had once been normal, Keiichi had spotted the heart of the matter instantly. No special powers or insights, just raw mortal observation. It was definitely one of Keiichi's most special gifts, and one of the few that was visible if you weren't his girlfriend. 

  
  


Urd shook herself. There were plenty of recriminations for everyone even if the plan worked perfectly. She did manage to restrain herself to one glance at a tall brown-haired goddess, rose-encrusted Angel coming from her back, an expression of utter betrayal on her face, permanently. The goddess was encased in a sheath of ice, and Urd had heard whispered theories that she was still conscious. Peorth had argued with opening the command core, and one quick shot was all it had taken to disable the first-class goddess. There had been little comment after that, unsurprisingly.

  
  


"Urd!" shouted Chrono, working with a device that looked like a hand-held loom, probably her PDA, "What are you doing here? This area is dangerous even if you're in good condition!" The younger goddess ran over. Unlike almost anyone else involved with Yggdrasil currently, she still wore her old purple uniform, in open defiance of the regulations for the new black uniforms. 

  
  


Urd pushed the goddess out of the way. Urd wasn't sure why Chrono was working with the current management. She had seen the looks of loathing the girl had delivered to supervisors when she thought no one was looking. However, she was working on restructuring Heaven's security systems, a delicate project that had to go to someone trusted. If Nifelhelm, their opposite number, knew that the Guardians were down, Urd wouldn't put it past the other half of her heritage to try something. 

  
  


That said, the last thing Urd needed was well-meaning help. What she wanted was a whole different barrel of sake. Urd focused for a minute. She needed to appear drunker than she actually was, and that was a task even someone who had tricked opponents in drinking games across the universe found difficult. Unable to prevent a slight apologetic glance, she shoved Chrono out of the way, sending her keypad skittering across the varnished floor as the goddess lost her balance and fell on her back. 

  
  


"Hey! I used to run this damn thing, you know!" Urd proclaimed obnoxiously. Hands on her hips, and striking a proud pose, she would look threatening if she weren't three feet high. "If you're going through and pruning the system, you should have called upon the mighty knowledge of Urd!" 

  
  


Even someone with Urd's strongly developed ego and showmanship (goddesship?) found her fire fade when she looked into the room. Several panels had been roughly ripped open, exposing their innards as two dozen or so various Powers worked on the system. The part of Urd's mind that wasn't swimming in alcohol noted grimly that she noted several actual axes deployed around the room. Tied up to the actual tree, oozing sap from several wounds and having a variety of extra probes connected to it, was a strong male figure with black hair. His eyes were blank and unseeing, and several cables were strung from his body under his robes to the various panels. An enormous amount of data seemed to be humming through the room. Completing the tableau were several of the somnolent Guardians, puppets with cut strings. The scene was almost perfectly arranged to shock, with the fallen Lord of Heaven and his attendants, struck dumb while smaller figures scampered over the great tree. Urd fell to her knees, trying not to vomit. The various figures turned to look at her.

  
  


"Urd," said a soft voice behind her. Urd didn't turn to look, trying to concentrate on her breathing. "Come on, Urd. You're in no shape to be here, or even to see this. The game your sister's doing is dangerous enough without causing more harm to the system." Urd flinched as if struck at that and turned around. She noted through the miasma of liquor and shock that Chrono was trying her best not to look into the room. 

  
  


"Which sister?" asked Urd in confusion, starting to babble, "I mean Skuld's debugging hasn't been top notch lately." 

  
  


Chrono's hands balled into fists, "I'm not going to cry," she thought to herself, "Urd's not the one you should direct your anger against. Besides, you've got someone to protect, and that means playing the damn game." 

  
  


Chrono took a deep breath and said, "Come on, Urd. Let's get you home. You're in no shape to be out and about." It was that moment when things started to get interesting in the control room.

  
  
  
  


********************

  
  


Several minutes prior, a few white six-legged rabbit-like creatures scampered through a dark space, only a few apparent stars in the background. Oddly enough, they seemed to be walking on water. Out of the darkness, a hammer came down, wiping the bug from existence. 

  
  


"I can't believe we actually made it here. I've never even seen it before," said Skuld in relief. Not many people came down here, and this area wasn't involved with actual processing. Still, it wasn't exactly open to the general public, and it had probably been a few years since it had been debugged, judging by the fact some of the vermin had made it down. 

  
  


Another figure with slightly glowing eyes hovered over the water. Her voice was melodic and warmly pitched, "I told you I could crack the passwords. They're only placed there to keep low-level kids from messing with this area." 

  
  


Skuld's temper flared for a moment at that, but she reined it under control after a moment, "So this is really it?" she asked for confirmation, trying to put as much doubt into her voice.

  
  


"Touche," commented her partner in crime. "Yes, this is Mimir's Well, Heaven's primary database area. Yggdrasil has its analysis software down here somewhere, and if there's a record in heaven, a copy will be kept here for anywhere in reality," she said, getting a little wistful. Skuld was busy digging through her robes for something, before coming up with something which probably had a flashlight somewhere in its distant ancestry, as it produced somewhere in the equivalent of the sun at noon in terms of raw lumens. "Warn me when you do that!" snapped her companion, covering her face with her hands in agony at the sudden brightness. "I'm not quite on your level, remember?"

  
  


"Sorry," Skuld said, a trace sheepish, though proud the Mr. Illuminate had succeeded on its trial run. She waited calmly for her companion to get readjusted, as she was just a bit fascinated with the creatures looks, as she was apparently related to the Earth realm, but didn't look nearly as humanoid as most of the people who hung around in heaven did. Primarily grey skin with a webbing of black lines across it, and though her body looked feminine, it also seemed almost as if she was wearing a body suit, with nothing really visible. Grey hair flowed down to shoulder length, and if you looked closely, her pupils were oddly cross-shaped. The most noticeable features on Morgan, though, were two small tresses of hair that formed into something resembling antenna, and her butterfly wings, though she usually kept the lower two tightly wrapped, and butterfly wing-like ears. She was very quiet concerning her past, but had displayed casual ease when it came to breaking into Mimir's medium-access areas.

  
  


Skuld's problem was that she was specifically sealed from access to the main databases, as her long experience with debugging made her easily at home among Yggdrasil at a level below the typical interfaces. If she could get into the system, there was quite a bit she could do, even with supposedly locked systems. 

  
  


Skuld's goddess class registration was enough to get through most of the gates in their path, but that left traces. Skuld, instead, introduced Mr. Password Prompt to Miss Mallet. Since the seals manifested themselves as distortions in reality, they were quickly 'corrected' courtesy of Skuld, freelance debugger. Morgan floated behind, a bit amused at the problem solving approach of the far younger goddess, which took a lot less power than the decryption programs Morgan used. Skuld continued on, occasionally whacking an access denial routine, as she followed the directions that she had laid out on a sheet of parchment in their little cabal's last pow-wow.

  
  


Their destination, however, was far more impressive. Rather than the usual calm, placid, dim waters, their destination was an actual well-structure, an impressive looking gazebo with a small fountain in it. This was a fairly handy metaphor to use for the data stream being constantly piped through. As impressive and peaceful-looking as the white, multi-level platform surrounding a small stone well was, the thick glowing shields enwrapping it lent an aura of menace as well as a slight hum to the air.

  
  


Skuld looked at her hammer in dismay, "Somehow I don't think this is going to quite be good enough." 

  
  


Morgan shook her head, and let her lower set of wings uncurl. A series of small sparks hovered in the air as she spent a moment letting the power build up within her. "Your problem, Skuld, is you thing too much in terms of raw energy." A series of small green diamonds shot out from Morgan and surrounded the shield. For a moment, a shifting pattern of runes scurried across the surface before locking into a pattern, and the shield turned to vaporous fog for a moment. "After you," she said cheerily, though quickly, "Those shields are going to snap shut in about twenty seconds unless you work your little magic." 

  
  


"Are you making fun of me?" Skuld demanded even as she rushed forward through the screen. Morgan watched her trot forward before looking at the gazebo with naked avarice in her eyes. Skuld rolled up her sleeves as she approached the fountain before plunging her hands into the data stream. Reality shivered and reformed around her. At this moment, Chrono was trying to escort the Goddess of the Past from the core Yggdrasil room. With ten seconds of Morgan's probable twenty remaining, Skuld said triumphantly, "Ha ha! They thought they could hide it from me? The Guardian programming just had one letter in its file name changed. They should be turning back on-line. The security system's in chaos! Now hurry up and get up there!" Skuld ordered. 

  
  


Morgan bowed slightly and vanished in a flash of light. Such free-range teleportation didn't exist among deities, one of the main reasons she was involved with the project, despite the danger from her being very fragile emotionally. Right now, Morgan should have reappeared in the corridor leading to the primary control room. Skuld idly wondered what she would find.

  
  


*********************

  
  


Morgan had long dreamed of breaking through heaven's computer systems and making a few small but significant changes. In fact, she had devoted entire centuries to learning the ways around the little booby traps Heaven left around its computers. However, in her wildest dreams, she didn't expect to be breaking in quite like this.

  
  


In front of her, a teenage-looking goddess was paused, stricken at the sight through the open doors up ahead, while also holding up a drunken eight-year-old former systems administrator. Though Urd probably was far more sober than she had been a scant few seconds before. 

  
  


Distracted by the Norn's performance, the black-suited 'higher authorities' who should have been working had stepped away from their consoles and slightly towards the entrance. No one noticed the overhead Guardians start to stir from their long inactivity. Golden staffs appeared in their hands and the child-sized, blue eyed avatars of Heaven's will moved in their mission to keep out unauthorized personnel. And no one in the room was showing any authorization. 

  
  


Morgan had to admit to being cheered up by watching a group of Heavenly busybodies being frozen in their tracks, courtesy of little androgynous figures that looked like they came out of a children's book. Soon afterwards, the Guardians stopped limply again, and Morgan rushed into the chamber. Skuld had only managed to keep the Guardians active via direct divine intervention. If Skuld wasn't continuing changing the file, Yggdrasil would simply restore from local backup, as the archives weren't to manipulated directly. If you knew what you were doing and didn't mind setting off a lot of a alarms, you could get around it temporarily. Luckily, the Guardians had moved quickly, as Skuld seemed to have been thrown clear a few seconds early. Morgan flew down the corridor in a blur, past a stunned Chrono and Urd. 

  
  


Morgan touched down before one of the consoles, and tried not to look at exactly who was tied up in front of her as she deftly manipulated the warp and weave of the loom-like interface. After a moment, the system beeped merrily, granting access. The security system was probably tied up into knots by lower-level administrators trying to track down what had happened with the Guardians. Assuming those administrators weren't icicles. 

  
  


Morgan hated the time pressure she was under. It wouldn't take long for someone to check on the most holy of holy places and realize something was up with most of the staff locked in ice and a creature who technically wasn't even a Heavenly resident at the main control board. So, she couldn't do all of the downloads the group who had placed her in this position wanted, and Morgan hated to admit they had priority over what she wanted done. Plucking a partially ice-encrusted crystal away from the nearest victim, she placed it in a slot on the console as Yggdrasil found the files she wanted. 

  
  


Chrono had finally found her voice, though most of her training for situations involving a hostile invasion were 'Call in the heavy hitters, and then duck under something solid until they finish'. Chrono made sure the stunned Urd was on her feet and she rushed forward, trying to remember combat-related spells. 

  
  


Morgan heard the footsteps, of course, and quickly turned, keeping her hands out and relaxed, the magical equivalent of a loaded gun. Chrono paused at that, and Morgan winced at the girl's youth and the hesitation in her eyes. Morgan theorized it was because of the horns of a dilemma. Moving forward would bring immediate bodily harmed, probably followed by punishment in the next few ours. Moving backwards would be a bit more terminal, but slightly more distant in the future. Not the best of options. 

  
  


After a moment, the girl's eyes rolled up in her skull and her body flopped bonelessly forward. Urd, now visible behind her, powerposed. "Fear my mighty sleep spell! Oh dear," finished Urd, managing to sound surprised and calm at the same time and she flopped forward and began to snore. Morgan shrugged, but didn't turn to watch the readouts as data continued to flow onto the cartridge. People ready to shoot first and ask questions if later convenient would be arriving soon. 

  
  


The data download went on longer than the fae had expected before the computer system prompted for another cartridge, almost five seconds longer. Evidently some new advances in storage media had taken place. Morgan considered finishing the download, but when she looked carefully at the deity who she had removed the cartridge from, she noticed that his emblems were blinking softly. Cursing under her breath, Morgan paused for once last glance of amusement at Chrono and Urd before jumping into the air and vanishing from sight.

  
  


********************

  
  


Skuld stood shin-deep in the Well of Mimir, facing the shield around the gazebo with an impatient look. Morgan should be getting back soon. A slight whisper of wind teased at her hair for a moment, and Skuld didn't turn around as the goddess who just arrived's melodic voice began to speak to her.

  
  


"Skuld," Belldandy began reproachfully, "You shouldn't be down here. It isn't like you to misbehave." Skuld turned around slowly and gulped. Holy Bell was out and looking reproachful, though Belldandy had her usual small smile. It was the one she used to wear when clearing obstacles from Keiichi's path in life. 

  
  


"Just cleaning up problems," Skuld said cheerfully. It wasn't even really a lie, though Belldandy's eyes narrowed a bit. "You should have seen all the bugs down here, Big Sister!" Skuld continued. "It was like-"

  
  


"Skuld," Belldandy interrupted quietly. "I know that the Guardian program was just hacked into. No one comes down here any more. It's quite dangerous, even for a goddess, to be around some parts of Heaven without proper training. Come home where you'll be safe." Holy Bell nodded for emphasis. 

  
  


"No, that's not really necessary. I mean, I'm still studying, and trying to get that Earth Training License so," Skuld cut off, but the damage was done. Belldandy looked angry now, a terrifying sight if one knew her well, and all of Heaven knew her far too well now. Her hair, white without the seal, hung loosely at her back, and she was wearing a night-black version of her old Goddess Relief uniform, still in mourning.

  
  


"Skuld," Belldandy said with angry concern, "Going to Earth is dangerous! You'll get hurt. Things in the current system just mean pain! You need to wait." Belldandy spent a moment thinking, and then announced happily, "You should come home with me, Skuld. You just need a little more time before I can let you out of the house." 

"Belldandy, wait, don't!" she said urgently, but it was too late. Holy Bell gestured, and an icy wind surrounded Skuld as water rushed upward from the well to encase her. 

  
  


Belldandy floated over and patted the ice affectionately. "You'll be safe now, sister. Soon everyone will be safe." With that, Belldandy grabbed the encased Skuld and used the reflective surface of the water to teleport away. For a few moments, Mimir's Well was silent, before a miniature version of Skuld broke the surface for air.

  
  


"I thought she'd never leave!" Chibi-Skuld looked around the dark area and shivered, "I'm glad I got this body-split spell out of Urd, though, and had a spare me ready. Now I just hope Morgan kept up her end of the deal." 

  
  


********************

  
  


Belldandy was currently setting Skuld up in the Almighty's former quarters, near the platform built in the center of his meeting room. "Keiichi, I miss you so much," she moaned to herself slightly, "I'm so lost without you, and everyone keeps trying to keep us apart!" A few tears spilled near Skuld, who was set near most of the former Heavenly Council as well as most of the technicians who had been in the core when Skuld struck. None of them, or anyone else, raised any offer of protest.

  
  
  
  


To be continued....

  
  


Belldandy shows up. Why was no one mentioning her at the beginning? "Speak the devil's name, and he (or she) may just answer." 

  
  


Yes, Belldandy's seal is broken, and she seems to have taken over Heaven more or less completely. I'll show more detail in the following chapters. Since Skuld spent the last year in heaven, I'm guessing she got a bit more magic instruction. As Skuld was literally in her element (in figurative and actual senses) in the Well, it shouldn't have been too hard for her to hide some mass. 

  
  


Mimir's Well is guarded by the severed head of one of the wisest Norse gods, in their mythology. Odin lost his eye in order to drink from the well and learn Mimir's secrets, as the well contained great knowledge. The Norns (the three goddesses, Norse form) hung out near the well, as they used it to water Yggdrasil. Odin, incidentally later hung, dead, from Yggdrasil (tree version) for nine days in order to learn about death. 

  
  


Since there is that black watery area shown in the OVAs, I thought I'd take some license, name it, and make it another part of Yggdrasil in accordance with the mythology.. After all, this way I got Skuld messing with the fountain's 'data' stream. 

  
  


I also named those cute, child-like death-dealers from the movie the Guardians. You'll remember them as the group of winged figures that attempted to capture Celestine. There were quite a few of them, and I don't think they got names. Since the deities usually have a lot of individuality, I figured they were some sort of protection program. Since the Angels don't show up until later (well, in the OVA), I assume the Angels weren't quite approved for Earthside use yet in the early manga, despite how much help they would have provided in several instances. 

  
  


Yes, I used Morgan. I liked her character in the movie a LOT, since I got the impression if Bell was separated from K1, she'd end up as distraught as Morgan. . Besides, Morgan cracked the prison of a God who was out to topple Heaven. A little thing like a database shouldn't be too difficult for her. Morgan's reasons for helping Heaven will be made a little clearer in the future.

  
  


I used Chrono for various reasons. She seemed the youngest of the three, so I guess Bell decided she was more 'usable' than the other two operators. Plus, it got me another movie cameo. ^_^

  
  


Next time: 

  
  


More intrigue, and we may just figure out what Bell is up to besides spooking various supernatural figures.


	3. Chapter 2 Through the Gates

Wish's End

  
  


by Tremor3258

  
  


Chapter 2-Through the Gates...

  
  


OMG Dark Divergence Fic-you've been warned

  
  


Disclaimer-Dark Horse and Pioneer have the U.S. rights to this material, and are greatly appreciated for their excellent translation job. 

  
  


*************

  
  


Belldandy's occasional excesses and grief didn't extend to changing the landscape itself. Heaven was still a beautiful place, though the people tended to move quickly and quietly through its well-tended gardens, their perfumed blossoms going unappreciated. It didn't seem appropriate to appreciate beauty under such an ugly master.

  
  


Morgan felt perfectly at home among great things simply left aside by Heavenly decree. Still, Heaven's security force was learning internal security on the ground. Everyone ignored the gardens, besides maintenance, so they didn't think anyone would be there. Avoiding the gardeners would be easy, as a new species of humanoid butterfly would probably attract some comment. So, she sat quietly on a limb several meters up in the canopy, with her knees against her chest as she tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.

  
  


"Morgan!" shouted a young voice from below. "Morgan, are you here?" Morgan sighed and buried her face in her knees for a moment, praying for continued inner strength. Gods and goddesses seemed to be genetically incapable of subterfuge, and it was almost physically painful to have watched Skuld's initial attempts at being sneaky. After months of careful effort, she could keep a straight face when denying she knew anything about treason against Mistress Belldandy, though Morgan feared what would happen if Skuld was forced to rely on her new talents in an actual field test.

  
  


However, thoughts of future stealth lessons were cut short when Skuld showed up with a height of about five inches. Morgan jumped down silently from the tree, crouching in front of the junior goddess, who was holding a scaled-down bullhorn to her lips. 

  
  


"Morgan!" Skuld shouted though the bullhorn with relief, knocking the fae back a step. Skuld quickly switched off the bullhorn and shamefacedly dropped it into a pocket on her baggy dress. "I'm sorry," she whispered, sounding pained. "I was afraid of being spotted right now."

  
  


Morgan rubbed her chin, "Well, the smaller size assists with that, but the bullhorn damages the effect." Morgan paused when she saw Skuld's eyes start to fill with tears. "Skuld, what's wrong?"

  
  


Skuld's gloved hands furiously wiped at her eyes, "It's nothing!" she insisted. Morgan, taking a cue from Urd, simply waited patiently for a moment as Skuld fought for control of her emotions. 

  
  


Unexpectedly, the dam burst, and Skuld began to cry. Morgan was shocked and felt guilty. bit out of practice with handling children emotionally, Morgan awkwardly scooped up the mini-goddess and patted her on the back uncertainly. A few minutes passed as Skuld dealt with the load she had been under the best she could. 

  
  


"Sorry," she said as the sniffles ceased, sounding more throaty than usual, "I'm not usually like this." That brought on a fresh round of crying. When she finally calmed down, Skuld explained, "I met Belldandy in the Well." Skuld shivered, "She froze most of me, this is as big as I can get, and I used up almost the rest of my power just teleporting here from the Well!" Skuld sighed, more in control but still depressed.

  
  


"Will you be all right?" Morgan asked. If Skuld's emotional fragility was caused by being in two places at once, she shuddered to think what the long term effects were.

  
  


"Maybe eventually," Skuld said after long moments deliberation. "Well, anyway, you have the information, right?" the young goddess asked with forced cheerfulness. Morgan held up the glimmering data cartridge she had filled. "Excellent!" Skuld said, leaning forward to touch it. As she did so, she closed her eyes and her forehead emblem began to glow, the cartridge brightening to match. After a moment, Skuld's head stopped shining as she pulled away, looking shocked. After a moment, she fell backwards, as her legs kicked up in the air as she began to laugh wildly. 

  
  


**************

Four hours later, Morgan and Skuld appeared in a different area of Heaven amid a shower of green sparks. Morgan quickly flew down to land on a roof and ducked down, and checked on her passenger, who appeared a bit grumpy. Skuld's levity had been burned away by impatience. "We could have walked here in under an hour! What was the hold-up?" 

  
  


Morgan held the tinny goddess up to eye-level. "Security's still at full alert from our break-in. Considering how unique we look, you should just be glad I managed to slip us through the screens at all sometime this decade." 

  
  


Skuld pouted, but replied, "So why did we have to make three separate stops on Olympus Mons? It's a bit shocking suddenly having to not breathe without warning." Skuld looked a bit green around the gills with remembrance. 

  
  


Morgan looked surprised, "Aren't they teaching you brats anything these days? All those old fire spirits foul up energy signatures. It makes a good transfer point if you don't mind a little cross-dimensional nausea," she explained with the ease of someone who wasn't bothered by such things.

  
  


"They don't go too far into theory work before your power comes all the way in, all right?" Skuld said testily. "So why the multiple stops? Couldn't you get by all the screens?"

  
  


Morgan looked uneasy, and she admitted softly, "We may have tagged a tracer on our first return trip, and I had to lose it. This is a well protected area of Heaven, however. We need to be about it quickly."

  
  


Skuld nodded and stood up in Morgan's hand, looking around the area they had landed it. It was a much more ramshackle part of Heaven, with rough-hewn log houses on either side of an unpaved street. Large, muscular people clad in rough leathers walked up and down, on various businesses. Many of them were carrying heavy two-handed weaponry, generally axes or maces. Skuld spent a moment murmuring to herself, and power posed as she exclaimed, "I know where we need to go!" before covering her mouth with her hands as the need for silence caught up with her, though it didn't stop her from bristling when Morgan's soft exhalation of impatience brushed her neck.

  
  


"Sorry," she ground out, "Head up this street a half mile in the direction away from Heaven's main administration district. There'll be a large lodge structure. According to the data transferred from junk files to the main console, that's where the person we're trying to find li-er, resides," Skuld directed. Morgan nodded, taking to the air and flying over the roofs. Skuld prepared to comment, but she noticed the people below were pretty blase about airborne humanoids. Evidently, it was a more common occurrence in this area than Skuld had anticipated. Skuld shrugged and leaned back in Morgan's palm. At least this would mean PART of the journey would be getting over with soon.

  
  


************

  
  


"I think 'large' was insulting it," said Skuld in hushed, reverent tones, "Do you think it'll be mad?" Morgan shrugged helplessly. The lodge Skuld had directed them to was made of hand-hewn logs stacked together, and then daubed to fill in the air spaces. The trees were the size of old-growth forests. Not trees FROM old-growth forests, but trees the size of forests. The lodge stretched up into the skies overhead, and passed out of sight in either direction.

"Now, my question is how we didn't see this thing from all over Heaven?" said Morgan, still sounding stunned.

  
  


Skuld refocused, able to answer such an easy question, "Easy, Heaven's n-dimensional matrix means that you can walk from one area of more normal space to the other while appearing to go to another one entirely." Skuld perked up as she exclaimed, " I've heard a rumor that if you walk up the steps to the Council chambers in a certain way, you open the door onto the universe's best hot springs resort." 

  
  


Morgan blinked in confusion, "What does that have to do with the lodge?"

  
  


"Nothing," Skuld admitted, "I just could really use a soak for about a year..." Skuld sighed dreamily.

  
  


Morgan coughed softly, and Skuld shook herself out of it as she felt the muscles in Morgan's hand start to clench from frustration. Skuld stared at Morgan's face, but she didn't look as irritated as she did worried. A surge of irritation was quickly overcome by fear. "You're not sure we escaped, are you?" Skuld asked in quiet realization.

  
  


"It's not that!" Morgan snapped, before saying in slightly softer tones, "Though I'm a little worried. Your sister's quite clever." Morgan sighed and looked at the lodge, "I just want to get this over with. Let's get out of here, get your sister somewhere close to sanity, and get me paid, all right?" Morgan flapped forward gracefully, though the way she slammed the door open via telekinetic force was anything but. 

  
  


Inside the lodge, visible through the pall of smoke from cooking fires and pipes, a group of large hairy men, many wearing a variety of armor, were busy feasting on a variety of roasted animals. Little silverware was in evidence, mainly knives to carve off sections. Lovely women flitted around the table, refilling drinks and making sure they didn't lack for food. The air was filled with hundreds of people boastfully shouting at once, though the group nearest the door almost went silent at Morgan's entrance.

  
  


A shorter man, carrying an axe, walked up towards the door, shaking grease off his fingers as he sized her up. "My lady, I do believe you've taken a wrong turn somewhere. However, if you come inside and stay awhile, I'm sure we'll-" The man broke up, seeing the tiny Skuld held in Morgan's hand, looking around the area with distaste. The warrior bowed deeply, "Pardons, young goddess, I did not realize you traveled with a servant." 

  
  


Skuld straightened up, and yelled to cover the sound of Morgan's stifled laughter. "Yes, that's right, but, um, there's a boon you can give me today."

  
  


"Do we ride?" said the man eagerly, a loud and bloodthirsty howl being raised by the interested surrounding men.

  
  


Skuld was bent backwards by the force of the roar, and, despite ringing ears, pressed forth bravely. "No, that day's still a long way's off." Skuld muttered to herself, "And hopefully not in my lifetime." Skuld continued again more loudly, "I seek the wisdom of one of your warriors. I beseech you: direct me to the one called Keiichi Morisato!" 

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  


Author's Note: And there's our end spot for the day... Relax, all will be explained in time, or next chapter, whichever comes sooner! I apologize for the delay.


	4. Failures and Shadow

Wish's End

  
  


by Tremor3258

  
  


Chapter 3-Failures and Shadow

  
  


Warning: This is a piece of darker OMG fiction, set in a divergent universe. Expect lots of angst with scattered showers of bitter recrimination.

  
  


Disclaimer: Dark Horse and Studio Proteus brought the manga to U.S. shores, and they own the rights. 

  
  


**************

  
  


The spirit of an ancient Viking berserker stared at Skuld blankly. Behind him, eyes stared out amidst full beards in the flickering candlelight. "Keichii Morisato?" he asked slowly, sounding out the unfamiliar syllable combinations. He bent to one knee and explained, "I'm sorry, my lady, but no one answers to such a name here."

  
  


Skuld, still standing in the curve of Morgan's hand, deflated, sitting down. She shook her head, in denial over what reality presented her. "That's impossible. My search routines were perfect, everything else was exactly how Urd said it would be!" Tears in her eyes, Skuld glared up at Morgan, "Where did it go wrong?" she whispered starkly.

  
  


The Norsemen stared at each other in confusion. Skuld was a goddess third-class, and ranked several levels above them on the hierarchy of Heaven. Still, there are very few deferential postures which won't be broken on the sight of a sniffling child. The spokes-berserker stood up uncertainly, and pat mini-Skuld lightly on the back with a finger. "There, there child. It's possible he has assumed another title amongst the legions who stand guard for Ragnarok," said the mighty warrior paternally.

  
  


"That's it!" shouted Skuld triumphantly, and stood bolt upright, causing Morgan to flutter into the smoky air reflexively, as the berserker dropped his head back down. Looking up at the wooden rafters, Skuld began to giggle, stress soon breaking her into all-out laughter that had her collapsed on the ground, legs kicking spastically as she struggled to breath past her hilarity. 

  
  


Morgan, annoyed with her panicked reaction, landed, and tapped her foot. There was still a faint trace of being hunted in the air, and her patience finally broke after a minute of listening to childish laughter. "Skuld, care to explain for us mere immortals?" the fae princess asked irritably. 

  
  


Skuld held up her hand, trying to gain more time against the questioning stares surrounding her in the gloom. Finally, after a few minutes, Skuld regained enough control to stand back up, brushing herself off and smoothing her uniform slightly. "I'm really a kid sometimes," Skuld started to babble, "Of course Keichii wouldn't be here on his own name! Anyone could find him! Of course Kami-sama wouldn't just hide his data and leave it at that-"

  
  


"Skuld," Morgan said in warning, voice starting to warm with anger.

  
  


"Sorry," Skuld said, getting a hold of herself. "The stress is starting to get to me." Morgan's eyes softened, but her expression didn't change. Skuld blinked a few times and gathered her thoughts. "There must be a layer of security that we didn't find out about," Skuld explained, "But there still should be some sort of feature to remember." 

  
  


Skuld turned to the spokes-Viking. "Great soldier," she said formally, "We're looking for a man, very young, with dark hair and eyes. He's probably slim, and has close-cut hair. A bit quiet." The ancient Norsemen's eyes didn't show recognition, and Skuld tracked to think of more details. "I also think he's quite short... probably not more than about 1 and two-thirds of a meter?"

  
  


The Viking tilted his head back and roared with laughter, many in the mead hall joining in. "Of course! You want the Smith! So, his legend has spread beyond these halls, eh?"

  
  


"Um, yes?" Skuld guessed tentatively. 

  
  


"He'll be pleased to know that his skill has reached the highest ears in Heaven!" said the berserker reverently. "Please, bade your servant to follow me!" The man headed off into one of the many doorways dotting the entrance hall.

  
  


"You heard the incredibly hairy man, servant!" Skuld said, grinning while snapping her fingers, "Let's go!"

  
  


Morgan held Skuld up to her face. "You want to walk, my lady?" she asked sweetly.

  
  


Skuld subsided, "I'll be good," she noted meekly as they started walking through the complex.

  
  


*************

  
  


In a cleaner and better-lit portion of Heaven, Urd awaited her fate soberly, legs kicking rhythmically in the air, as her feet were six inches off the ground on the chair. Three guards stood behind the chair's back, clad in the harsh black suits Belldandy was mandating for her operatives. There had been four, but he was in the gutted remnants of the healer's wing, nursing a heavily bruised shin, courtesy of suggesting snidely that Urd might want a booster seat.

  
  


Irritated once again by thinking over the event, Urd snatched at the cup in front of her, a trifle disappointed to discover it only contained tea. Still, despite being sobered by the threat of being brought before Belldandy, she'd drunken enough sake before heading for the primary computer room to keep her empowered for a while yet. 

  
  


"You know, sister, there's an easy way to not have to be such a disgrace to yourself all the time," said a warm, feminine voice behind her. Caught off guard, Urd froze, unswallowed tea tingling on her tongue. Urd mainly motionless, waited a few moments to swallow and then blinked in surprise, looking at the cup. Something tasted familiar about the tea.

  
  


"Urd, dear sister, I need you to pay attention now," continued the voice as it started to move around the chair, though Urd could hear frost creeping into the pleasant tone. The goddess of the past slapped herself mentally. All too typically, she was wandering into immediate puzzles than the important one.

  
  


*Maybe that last cup was too much after all,* Urd mused. After a moment, she shook her head. *Nah-but now, I think I'd better start talking before Bell loses her temper.* A chill ran down Urd's spine, and she nodded, agreeing mentally, *Yeah, just keep that in mind and maybe you'll live to drink again, Urd my girl.*

  
  


Mentally braced, Urd started coldly, "Disgrace is a lot better than using that sort of power, dear sister, and I've done what I could all my life to avoid it." Urd sipped the tea again, throat going dry. Whatever was grabbing her attention in the blend was jumping up and down now, "And I'm not too fond of your methods either, sis." she finished defiantly.

  
  


Belldandy, goddess first class, tsked slightly to herself as she moved around the chair. Urd's mouth dropped open slightly as she saw Belldandy clearly, feeling something approaching culture shock.. She wasn't wearing the heavy black coat over white skirts she had adopted as her uniform, or her old Goddess Relief outfit she wore, usually fervently, when off-duty. Instead, it was perfect springwear for Earth, and Urd even vaguely remembered having seen Bell wearing it. She wore a simple blouse and dark skirt combination, even with heavier footwear that even had ankle support, as opposed to the soft boots normally seen, without a trace of jewelry. Belldandy's outfit was fantastically out of place in Kami-sama's old residence hall, and unless Belldandy had some spares conjured up, it was the last of its kind in existence.

  
  


Bell looked at Urd's expression with wide eyes and looked down at herself, before shrugging slightly and starting in a merry tone. "What is the problem, Urd? Even I feel the need to relax every now and then, and I have to be relaxed and have all my strength for what's coming next," she said, voice growing warm and soft.

  
  


Urd's capacity for shock was exponentially larger when she had stepped out of a TV to help out her little sister, and she quickly refocused. "What's next?" she asked, pouncing on the line.

  
  


Belldandy opened her mouth happily, and then paused, eyes clouding for a moment. When she spoke, it was in a flat, mechanical tone, "Urd... you should be more careful. There's already talk of charges and treason against you... and your background doesn't help the situation. I want the family to be together for the celebration, not sealed away somewhere."

  
  


"What about my background?" Urd demanded angrily, standing up on the chair to look Belldandy in the eye. "I've gone through the simulators, passed all the dumb classes, and got my license! I'm perfectly qualified to be a goddess! I am!" she trailed off sullenly. As she sat down, she muttered mutinously, "Compared to you right now, I'm overqualified." 

Belldandy's eyes narrowed to slits, and Urd froze...training reacting in a reach for power to build a shield, but she caught herself. Without her Yggdrasil connection, power carried far too high a price, even for this, and Urd closed her eyes, steeling herself for reincarnation as she started to hear the majestic windows cracking under the strain that Belldandy's powers put on space-time when her control slipped.

  
  


The blow never came. The sound of glass grinding itself to powder trailed off... before a tinkling sound indicated the windows reassembling themselves. Urd cautiously popped one eye open. Belldandy was smiling again, sipping her tea calmly.

  
  


"Still, the fact that you consider yourself yet to have morals will play well at your trial Urd," Belldandy continued as if Urd had never interrupted, "The jury will like that. However, I don't have much time for pleasantries... I'm still being blocked from full control, and then there'll be plenty of time to set things straight."

  
  


"Time?" Urd asked, before breaking into a cold sweat. 

  
  


"Belldandy, Sis, you can't mess around with that! It would end the multiverse completely. It's the final taboo. You can't alter the Temp-" Urd started to demand, but Bell cut her off with a single word.

  
  


"Quiet," the ruler of Heaven said simply, and Urd felt her mouth snap shut, somewhat to her surprise. Belldandy explained, "I appreciate your advice, and I understand no one would know better than you about destroying worlds, but I'm decided on my path." Urd winced, but her sister gave no outward notice.

  
  


Belldandy sighed, and continued, "I'm sorry Urd, but I can't have you trying any more distractions. Your little actions caused the guard to shift, and allowed someone to steal information from the archives. Worse, they already corrupted poor dear Skuld." Urd's eyes widened in panic, but she could still say nothing. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she wondered what had been done to her... and to Skuld. "After all, we wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, would we?" Belldandy asked, staring into Urd's eyes, and Urd felt her jaw muscles ease, allowing her to speak again.

  
  


"Y-yes, of course Belldandy. I'll help you however I can," Urd stammered, before shaking her head, "Wait.. what did-"

  
  


Belldandy held up a small stoppered bottle for explanation. "I was afraid you'd still be stubborn, so I put this in your tea to help you relax. Something I found in your old training notebooks when we were under house arrest under our..." Belldandy shook, and then swallowed before finishing, "return. See? You've already helped me greatly. This made it much easier to help people cut through the old lies and see the truth about what's going on. Even your mother was quite interested, and gave me this modified version as a present. Even demons need total understanding between people sometimes. Thank you, Urd."

  
  


"You're welcome, dear sister," Urd said brightly then shook herself, struggling to resist. After one of many nights out partying too hard, Urd had misread the directions for an assignment and brewed something strictly on the banned list... and she'd kept detailed notes on what she was constructing. Once she found she'd brewed a control potion, she poured everything down and ended up failing the lab, but kept the notes, feeling such a thing, in small doses, could be incredibly useful for a hopeful Goddess of Love.

  
  


"Of course I am, Urd!" Belldandy said happily, before leaning forward. "Now... why don't you tell me everything you know about our recent little break-in." And Urd, despite all her efforts, found herself complying, Belldandy's smile growing larger and larger as the tale went on. 

  
  


**************

  
  


"So, if he's disguised, how will we be sure it's him and not some layer of security?" Morgan whispered to Skuld as they walked through the hall, passing by the occasional servant bearing various trays, though generally they carried mead . 

  
  


"Well," Skuld explained, "the base personality shouldn't have modified... Kami-sama didn't want him going insane, naturally. From what Urd told me before she left to go check on Big Sister, we'll be looking for a quiet, shy, near-recluse type whose good with machines, and has a terrible tendency to lust after innocent young women!" Skuld finished dramatically. Morgan eyed her skeptically, and Skuld subsided, "Well.. I've heard two sides to that last part," she admitted.

  
  


"That explains that Smith thing, anyway," Morgan muttered. 

  
  


The Viking leading them stopped in front of one doorway among many, and flung it open, admitting the sounds of a party, with conversation volumes up in the jet-engine range. Morgan took several steps backwards, ears folding flat against her head in pain. Backlit by firelight, the Norsemen called, hands cupped around his mouth, "Hail, noble warriors!" Over several minutes, the noise of the room subsided merely to loud construction work. Apparently considering this sufficient, the fallen warrior continued, "A great goddess has come bearing a supplication!"

  
  


This shut them up. "Do we ride?" called someone near the door, backed by another round of roars. The guide waited patiently, before shaking his head sadly, "Not quite yet. Instead, she asks a question of the great Smith!" 

  
  


Various noises of agreement rang out, before a helpful voice noted, "Two floors up, third door by the stairs!" The Norsemen raised his arm in thanks, before continuing down the hallway. 

"You mean we have to go through that AGAIN?" Morgan demanded, a bit too loudly, as she shook her head to try and clear it of the ringing.

  
  


Skuld poked a finger in one ear to clear it. "It was pretty bad, huh?" she sympathized, "And I guess being bigger means that you caught more of it... and those ears look pretty sensitive."

  
  


"What?" Morgan asked, still squawking a little. Skuld nodded in sympathy, before Morgan chuckled, "Relax, it was a joke.. give me a minute and I'll be fine," she said cheerfully.

  
  


Skuld sat down in Morgan's hand again, pouting. "Don't try things like that!" she demanded, "I'm not a little kid, I wasn't bragging." Morgan grinned again and started to chuckle. Skuld looked down at her current petite size, "You know what I mean!" she huffed.

  
  


**************

  
  


A few minutes later, they made it to the room. The halls were more crowded on this level, and the hallway not as smoky. Morgan especially enjoyed the greater vision radius. The building was too cramped, and that, combined with her instinct of something still pursuing them, meant it was taking a sizable chunk of willpower not to raise a defensive spell or two. Even this cramped place was better than having all of Heaven after them, though Morgan was growing increasingly unsure about that. Something thumping in the background on this level wasn't helping matters.

  
  


"Ow! Morgan, watch it!" Skuld squeaked, and Morgan relaxed the hand she had rolled into a ball. 

  
  


Morgan started to apologize, but Skuld waved it off, though pleading, "Just don't do it again." 

  
  


"Ah ha! Found it for sure this time!" their erstwhile guide stated. Skuld's eyes lit up, and she started rummaging through her pockets while the guide placed his hand on the door handle. Suddenly, he jumped back as the door swung open, apparently on its own accord.

  
  


"Ha! I see the main hall hasn't fully diluted your talents!" stated a young voice from in the room. 

  
  


"Of course not lad, but I'll be ready if YOU ever need a refresher!" stated the guide cheerfully, before sobering at Morgan's loud throat clearing. "You've got some visitors Smith. An honest-to-true goddess!" 

  
  


"Send her and her servant in, at their pleasure, of course," replied the voice. The guide nodded, and turned to them and bowed, before walking down the hall back to his party. Morgan cautiously stepped around the doorway.

  
  


Skuld paused in her search as she caught sight of the door. It was of thick oak or another hard wood, Skuld wasn't good with biology, and had been worn from hard use. Its most noticeable feature, however, were the three daggers embedded in it... at roughly head height on a normal human. Morgan looked at them grimly, moving to pull one out and examine in.

  
  


"Yes, you won't find a finer edge anywhere!" stated the room's occupant proudly, tearing the two's attention to the room and its inhabitants. The two were speechless for a moment as they took in the surroundings.

  
  


Though built in the usual lodge style, the owner of the room had accessorized to a great extent. Almost every inch along three of the walls had a melee weapon of some sort hung upon it, edges gleaming dangerously in the light of the fourth wall's in habitants, a massive fireplace. Morgan relaxed slightly as she spotted why this floor was thumping, due to a bellows assembly before the fireplace. Along one side was a simple bed, but much of the medium-sized room was dominated by a forge, at which the speaker was continuing to work on a new masterpiece.

  
  


"Keichii?" Morgan asked. The man was indeed young, barely in his twenties as mortals go, with dark hair and Japanese features. However, her mental image hadn't included all the weapons... and especially not the heavy leather armor and hammer the man swung casually. 

  
  


He continued his task, but answered after looking up for only a moment "Yes indeed, good woman. Are you and your mistress here to place an order? I can handle my lady easily," he said respectfully, "But getting something to match your form will be a challenge I can sink my teeth into."

  
  


"Keichii?" Skuld asked skeptically, watching as the man quenched the sword temporarily and started to move towards them. "We're not here for weapons, we're here to pick you up so that you can help us fix things?" Skuld looked up at Morgan, "What's he talking about, anyway?"

  
  


Morgan explained, "Your basically human-shaped, but my center of gravity's a little different from the wings, you have to get differently balanced weapons," she explained, sounding impressed. "He's pretty good to pick it up so quickly."

  
  


Keichii shrugged, and said modestly, "I try," as he arrived a respectful few feet in front of them, inclining his head towards Skuld. "Has your carriage broken down my lady? Wheels are a little out of my line of work, but I'll see if I can help... though I'm not sure I'm any good at this 'keichiing'" 

  
  


"Hmm," Skuld thought aloud, "Maybe his talents have been diverted a little." Keichii looked confused, and Skuld changed the subject. "Keichii, that's your name. You were loved by the goddess... before something bad happened, and we're trying to help set things right." Skuld went back to searching her pockets with renewed purpose.

  
  


"Well, Keichii has a nice ring to it, but I don't answer to that ma'am. I'm the Smith, forging the weapons to finally defeat the demons," he explained slowly, looking more and more confused as he spoke, "And it's nice of you to say that, but what goddess would love me next to true men of valor. I'm far too short to get the heft for front-lines work. I'm good for training, but I lack the strength and angle to slay demons," he said apologetically, bowing his head.

  
  


"Talk about self-denigrating," Morgan muttered to herself, "And Heaven's Chief Control Freak fell for someone like this?" 

  
  


"Well, I think so," Skuld said absently, before holding a small, shimmering blue crystal aloft. "Ah ha! I was afraid I'd lost it in one of those teleports." Skuld examined it closely and then nodded happily, "Yup, you're definitely Keichii!" Skuld drew her hammer, cleared her throat, and said in a more dignified tone, "Kei-Smith, please bend forward a bit, and receive a blessing." 

  
  


The Smith shrugged, and kneeled, with bowed head. "Excellent, my faithful servant!" Skuld praised. Morgan stifled a groan and rolled her eyes. Goddesses inability to lie extended to inability to act, evidently. Skuld stuck her tongue out slightly in concentration as she raised the crystal. "Now, close your eyes and hold very still!" she commanded. The man did as commanded.

  
  


Skuld crouched before leaping into the air, placing the crystal on his forehead before giving it a mighty whack with her mallet, causing a startled yelp to emanate from her supplicant. The crystal cracked under the blow, ringing out in a clear tone before letting loose a wave of light. When it cleared, the man was on his back, clutching his forehead.

  
  


"How long does it take for mortals to reboot?" Morgan asked, a bit excited. 

  
  


Skuld looked at Morgan, curious over the sudden burst of enthusiasm, but eagerness to lecture won out. "Memory reinstalls like this are pretty rare.. I didn't have all the right equipment and training to do a really safe, clean job of restoring everything... so he might remember both.. and some of the last parts in here might be hazy, since they're near where when Kami-sama gave him the false ones." 

  
  


Morgan watched Keichii continue to writhe for a moment, before, concerned, she asked, "When you say couldn't do a really safe job, you did mean that he'll actually be all right? I mean, he's wearing all that leather, but those sounds he's making when he's kicking the floor sound like an army! Can't we do something?"

  
  


Skuld chuckled nervously, "Well, the manual said that brute-force installations had an eighty-percent success rate." Skuld watched Keichii and commented, "He's not really hitting the ground that hard... just give him a minute.. I think." Skuld listened, "No... maybe the forge is causing the bellows to expand and contract unrhythmically. Poor thing," Skuld said sympathetically, looking at the forge. 

  
  


"Well.. it looks like he's asleep now, actually." Morgan said, relieved.

  
  


"Huh, oh, right! Keichii!" Skuld shook herself free of mecha-lust and studied him, ignoring the disturbed expression that Morgan was making. "Right, he should be waking up any time now!" Skuld explained, as Keichii's eyes flew open.

  
  


"What the- where am I? What's that pounding? I didn't drink anything last night!" Keichii demanded, jumping to his feet and looking around. "Belldandy?" he called plaintively, before looking down at himself. "Why am I wearing an apron to bed?" Keichii asked, before answering his own question, "Urd..." he said grimly.

  
  


Skuld asked, "Hello? Mr. Morisato?" as she waved her hands.

  
  


Keichii looked at Skuld, blinking slightly. "Urd? I think this subdivide went a little off," he noted, amused. 

  
  


"Are you okay to travel, sir?" Morgan asked, impatiently. In her experience, catching up was something that could be done anywhere... and they'd been here for a while. Besides, massive emotional trauma was better delivered someplace pleasant and open, if anyone was willing to ask her.

  
  


Keichii shook herself from the quasi-Urd to look at the being holding her. And looked. He swallowed slightly against a suddenly dry throat, and shook himself free. "This is definitely one of Urd's tricks! Who else would go and put on a rock video or something as background? Urd, it's not funny, take me home!" he demanded of Skuld.

  
  


"I'm not Urd, Keichii! My name's Skuld, I'm Belldandy and Urd's sister," she explained. "We haven't met yet.. but there's some really important stuff I need to tell you-" Skuld was cut off as she was suddenly tossed through the air to Keichii's hands. Reflexively, the armored college student grabbed her safely. 

  
  


Morgan, meanwhile, turned towards the still-open door, unfurling her wings and gathering power. "I'm a fool!" she berated herself, "That wasn't the forge or the people.. those were troops moving in! Keichii, get close! We need to leave now!" 

  
  


"No problem!" Keichii said, rationalizing he might as well enjoy getting out of whatever Urd drugged him with. 

  
  


"Why leave that way when you can walk? It's much more healthy?" said Belldandy, entering the room. Several black-suited gods and goddesses surrounded her, as well as the glassy-eyed form of Urd. Keichii's eyes widened in delight.

  
  


"Belldandy! Thank god you're here so we can get out of this mess!" he happily exclaimed, before noticing Urd. "Wait.. Urd's there? Belldandy, who are these people? What did Urd do?" Keichii asked.

  
  


Belldandy winced. "It's best to tell you later, Keichii. Now... please, everyone just come along and we will 'get out of this mess'." The other gods started to move into the room.

  
  


Morgan's eyes widened mutinously. "Oh no," she warned, green energy crackling in her hands. "I won't let you get me, not after I've worked so hard!" Screaming, Morgan launched a blast of green energy at Belldandy, who seemed remarkably unconcerned.

  
  


"Holy Bell," Belldandy ordered, awakening the angel from out of her body. The angel took one look at the situation and started to blow a stream of air from her mouth... that grew exponentially as it moved away from the angel and goddess pair. Morgan's blast simply fragmented when it struck the current, and a moment later, Keichii and the two female immortals were struggling to hold their feet in the cyclone-level winds. Holy Bell gestured, and the breeze suddenly contracted, holding the three in ice.

  
  


Belldandy stumbled forward, and patted the frozen Keichii on the cheek. "Don't worry, Keichii. This will keep you safe and out of harm's way... everything will be as it was," she said, before lightly kissing him on the lips. Straightening herself and dismissing Holy Bell, she turned to the retainers. "Move them, and the rest of Skuld, to the Master Control Room." Belldandy smiled at Urd, who shivered slightly, though still holding her feet still as Belldandy commanded. "Congratulations Urd, you've given me the opportunity to fix everything right, at last." 

  
  


To be concluded...

  
  


Author's Notes: It took a little while, but I hope the wait was worth it. A lot of stuff here, but if you're an obsessive manga reader you can catch them. Otherwise, all should be cleared up next time. Thanks to Xerlic for assistance with research for this chapter. 

  
  


Last chapter: Belldandy puts her plan into operation, with the fate of the universe resting on the outcome. No pressure, huh?


	5. Chapter 4 Regret

Wish's End  
  
by Tremor3258  
  
Chapter 4/Part 5- Regret  
  
***************  
  
Belldandy's currently favored ice imprisonment spells didn't truly freeze their victims  
  
solid. They were ice elemental spells, true, but instead it merely froze a section of space-time  
  
solid, locking them inside a single moment of time. From the outside, they looked terrible from  
  
the shock of imprisonment, but Belldandy was intending to keep people safe, secure, and out of  
  
the way. It was far more gentle than most sealing spells, keeping the people from suffering the  
  
anguish of long imprisonment.  
  
Belldandy had found the program in the archives, and indeed, she found it good. In her  
  
mind, she considered it yet another failing of the old governing body in that this method wasn't  
  
typically used. But then, she hadn't ever decanted one of her victims and heard their side of the  
  
story, as the creators of the spell had long ago.   
  
The prisoners were indeed trapped within a single moment of time, but a moment that  
  
stretched out for all eternity from the inside... and the moment taken was the last tiny moment of  
  
time before being sealed in totally, a moment of panic as the ice closed in and began to suffocate  
  
the spell's target, repeated over and over again.  
  
It was a credit indeed to Keichii that he still had the wherewithal to scream when the spell  
  
was released. As the young man gasped for air several moments later, his eyes managed to focus  
  
enough to see the concerned face of Belldandy in front of him, frown of concentration on her  
  
face, hand raised in a spell-casting gesture.   
  
The former engineering student jumped backwards... and slipped on landing, head  
  
slamming against a surprisingly uneven floor. Frantically he tried to crawl away, but found his  
  
arms restrained as he was roughly hauled to his feet, firmly placed between two large men with  
  
god markings on their faces.   
  
"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Keichii," Belldandy said regretfully, "But I needed to get  
  
you safely away from my sisters... they're ill and I'm sorry you had to see that." Belldandy  
  
moved and, after brushing off the seat, sat down in a rough-hewn looking chair. By the chair was  
  
what resembled a golden loom.. set in place of a keyboard in what was some sort of organ.   
  
Keichii followed the pipes up until his eyes watered... there was obviously a ceiling, but the pipes  
  
seemed to extend farther than the ceiling was high. He returned his gaze to Bell, mind boggling.  
  
Bell smiled at the surprised expression, "You should be very happy, Keichii!" she said,  
  
"Not many people ever get to visit here, and you're the first living mortal in millennia."  
  
  
  
"Belldandy!" Keichii shouted, "Where are we? What's going on? Why am I wearing this  
  
dumb set of armor?" he demanded.  
  
Belldandy frowned slightly, and Keichii found himself forced backwards, as the two gods  
  
holding him took an involuntary step back. "I remember you as being more patient," she said  
  
distantly, before shaking herself. "But no matter... just give me a moment, and it will be made  
  
clear." Belldandy swivelled, working with the loom, which rang in clear crystalline tones  
  
whenever Belldandy manipulated the threads. After a moment, the massive organ started to shift,  
  
pipes turning.  
  
Keichii blinked, wondering if maybe this was the nightmarish aftermath of one of Otaki  
  
and Tamiya's parties. The organ pipes had seemed to be basically a flat wall, albeit out of a  
  
series of pipes that twisted around like a bad fractal, but now it seemed to be rotating and take up  
  
far less space, before returning to a mathematician's dissertation diagram.   
  
Still, dimensions shifting in and out of each other was not as panic-inducing as what was  
  
now visible on the wall. Looking more like branches, several rows of stops held a powerful  
  
looking man, eyes gazing sightlessly. Keichii shuddered, sure that look had been on his face  
  
himself moments ago.   
  
"No, not him," Belldandy said, rising and grabbing Keichii's head with one strong hand.   
  
"There," she ordered, lifting his gaze up forcefully.   
  
Several branch-stops were framing a small window, which was either a monitor or a  
  
direct-line to reality... post-celebration dreams could go either way. However the image was  
  
being created, a blue, white, gray, and brown sphere, half of it plunged into black, was set against  
  
stars. Keichii blinked, it looked familiar... but, while the west cost of the Americas were there,  
  
what should be Asia was all wrong. The eastern-most recognizable figure from high school  
  
geometry was the diamond of India. East of that was smaller islands, with massive fissures  
  
running inland. More noticeably for one who knew about satellite photography, there was no  
  
sign of cities anywhere in the night half of the planet.  
  
Belldandy said softly, "What do you think?" before releasing his head.  
  
Keichii turned his gaze back onto her. "Is that Earth?" he asked skeptically. "The  
  
continents don't seem right.. and I don't see any cities, or, come to think of it," he said, eyes  
  
narrowing, "Much plantlife."  
  
"Well, a multinational nuclear exchange cuts down on most lifeforms," Belldandy said  
  
matter-of-factly, but with a slight hint of regret. Keichii goggled at her, and Belldandy said, far  
  
more warmly, "Don't worry, you won't have any trouble. It'll be all right now."  
  
"All right?" Keichii found his voice, "Bell- that's-"  
  
  
  
Belldandy interrupted, "All done for you Keichii!" she said cheerfully. Even Keichii's  
  
expanded worldview had limits. Whatever else was to be said he missed, passing out from  
  
shock.  
  
She didn't seem to notice immediately. Keichii was there, more or less, and any health  
  
problems could be corrected in the long run. Belldandy, beaming, advanced upon Urd, and with  
  
a quick wave, dispelled the ice around her. Gasping for breath, and amazed to find herself  
  
capable of movement again, she sank to her knees. Looking up to the face of Belldandy, Urd  
  
scrambled backwards in terror, looking instinctively for a weapon. She knew that tight smile all  
  
too well from happier days, but that old tired smile of half-chastisement looked as brittle as glass.  
  
"Urd... despite everything, I want to thank you," she said warmly. "Only someone with a  
  
mind twisted as yourself would try and turn Keichii against me, but you DID find him at last..  
  
and everything can go back to the way they were now."  
  
Urd snorted, something that burst into a guffaw after a moment, and made the guards take  
  
an involuntary step backwards. Urd glanced at them for a moment, and nodded in what seemed  
  
like approval. "Look around you Bell!" she said, stridently, getting to her feet, looking amazed.   
  
"Is this what it's about? Thinking by bringing back Keichii you can undo everything and go back  
  
to being the live-in girlfriend?"   
  
Urd started walking forward, finger pointed directly at Bell's nose as the older goddess's  
  
voice gained more strength and volume. "Yes, he's here and intact and you can think things will  
  
go back to normal... but only because Gungnir attacks ONLY its target, the Lord of Terror, not  
  
Keichii. Keichii's mind was protected. He's still, for the most part, dead Bell... and it's a death  
  
whowould have saved the whole world from destruction, a sacrifice that YOU devalued!" Urd  
  
stopped for breath, finger hovering an inch from Bell's face, wavering as if it had struck some  
  
barrier and was seeking the strength to complete its travels. Urd, seeing red, felt the weight drain  
  
off her shoulders as she finally, after biting her tongue for so long, spoke her mind, and inwardly  
  
something gave. With a crackle of energy around the tip, Urd's finger lightly tapped Bell directly  
  
in the forehead emblem.   
  
Urd stiffened while the guards gasped at someone daring to touch the Master of Heaven.   
  
The Norn looked at her arm, realization finally dawning that she was no longer looking UP to  
  
meet Belldandy's gaze.. The crease of Belldandy's smile on her features eased, while the skin  
  
around her eyes tightened. She waved her hand imperiously at the guards, who didn't hesitate or  
  
question before leaving the room. Each word was clipped off when she spoke, as pointed as any  
  
sword hanging on smoke-stained brackets.   
  
"I see it finally came through at last. You speak of value, you even spent a year hanging  
  
on by the fingernails to try and maintain your cover, swilling in sake, pretending to be a drunken  
  
boor. But you finally saw your chance and tapped Nifelhelm. Well, you missed your chance to  
  
destroy me. Now I have you Lord of Terror!" Urd never saw Belldandy move, before suddenly  
  
the Goddess of the Past was sent flying through the archway leading away from the master room,  
  
the sudden acceleration making the edges of her vision fade to gray before impacting against the  
  
walls, making the whole wooden structure echo for a moment. Urd collapsed to her knees as the  
  
force relented, gasping for breath, and sure at least a rib or two was broken.  
  
Despite the ringing in her head, she felt revitalized, lighter than she had in months as  
  
power flowed through her veins. As the ringing slowed to a bad-hangover roar, the feeling of  
  
giddiness was replaced by shock. She had felt the imprint of these powers on her mind for years,  
  
overheard whispered muttering that died down when she approached the speakers about its  
  
source for even longer, tasted it once, and, just once, oh so painfully drank fully from it. The  
  
taste a confirmation that had scared her into the study of potions and away from true spells for  
  
years, but the true taste had-   
  
Urd forced herself away from those thoughts, pulling herself up. "I'm not a demon," she  
  
declared, swaying slightly as her inner ear continued to beat to a staccato rhythm all its own.   
  
Urd's hand moved almost on its own accord towards her forehead, but she forced it down,  
  
hoping (there was no one she felt she had the right to pray to) that it retained its familiar shape.  
  
"I'm not the Lord of Terror, Belldandy," she said more loudly, voice echoing slightly off  
  
the walls, and carrying perfectly to her sister, who stood still, power crackling slightly around  
  
her. "I promised you never again. I don't know what happened, but I never wanted you dead,  
  
despite everything. Please, Bell.. look at this! Even Keichii was afraid of you, so many who  
  
only wished for the best in our mission are imprisoned, the system's continuing to degenerate.   
  
There's still time to atone for all of our sins."  
  
Urd smiled hopefully as Belldandy glanced at Keichii. Last-minute appeals did seem to  
  
be his speciality, but Urd's countenance dropped as her sister looked back at her. Belldandy's  
  
mask had dropped, and for the first time in Urd's memory, Bell was visibly enraged, alabaster  
  
strands of hair lifting themselves on unseen winds as her full power as a Goddess First-Class  
  
gathered around her. Belldandy raised her hands, and Holy Bell appeared, arcing over her master  
  
protectively, in an attack posture. A blast of pure white energy arced out towards Urd.   
  
Years of training raised Urd's hands to ward off the bolt, but she forced them down,  
  
composing herself as best she could and making eye contact with Bell before the bolt seared into  
  
her, running fire through her nerves. A scream began to force itself from her throat, before the  
  
fire was suddenly extinguished. Urd felt submerged, like a warm bath for a moment, before  
  
something tugged her forward. Her vision cleared to find herself a half-foot from Belldandy's  
  
face, trapped in an invisible vise, though the pain was gone. Behind her, she could hear the  
  
black-suited guards walking out of the room, boots clicking against the floor, before the doors  
  
whisked themselves shut. The two goddesses were in silence, but for Keichii's slow breathing  
  
and the deep pulse of Yggdrasil itself. The Guardians hung in the air, unconcerned in their  
  
slumber.  
  
"How?" Belldandy whispered harshly. "How did you know about time?"   
  
Urd's muscles writhed as they sought release from Bell's hold on her, the words being  
  
heard, but not understood as Urd's fear of confinement blotted out comprehension in white fire.   
  
Mere muscles could not break the spell that was placed about the goddess, and Urd's struggles  
  
eased as her instincts finally caught up with situation, struggle postponed until an opening  
  
presented itself, yet she still trembled.  
  
Calmness came and went quickly as Urd's mind processed Belldandy's final sentence,  
  
and the conclusion that blazed across her mind reignited her struggling. "Belldandy, you -ow, let  
  
me go!- can't do this! If Yggdrasil is put under any more strain the entire universe will collapse"  
  
she said, trying to yell but only a whisper moving out of her strained lungs.   
  
Belldandy resorted to her more typical calm countenance, "I can't do this? Why  
  
shouldn't I, dear Urd? Yggdrasil won't last many more days without repairs, and I need  
  
programs that have been hidden by me thanks to our little sister for that. I can't let that happen.   
  
After all, my contract stated that I would be with Keichii forever. Now I have the power to  
  
ensure the wish goes through *properly*," Belldandy's features twisted into a snarl for a  
  
moment, "rather than just an echo of my dear sweet Keichii. Now, as soon as I crack the controls  
  
to Yggdrasil's time maintenance functions, I can put things back to how they were, only better  
  
for Keichii."   
  
With a casual dismissal, Belldandy sent Urd slumping against the wall, and brushed her  
  
hands off slightly before turning back to the other targets she brought bad. A slight nod led  
  
Keichii, still unconscious, to being deposited gently in one of the control chairs at the foot of the  
  
imprisoned Kami-sama.   
  
Her love safe for the moment, Belldandy stepped forward and caressed the outline of  
  
Skuld's frozen face with one hand. "You've been in the middle of this since the beginning dear  
  
sister," she murmured, "But now, I have the chance to help you out of our mess one last time."   
  
The undisputed Empress of Heaven took a moment to roll her sleeves back up above her  
  
elbows, rubbed her hands together, and began the motions to unseal the prison spell on Skuld.   
  
When Belldandy broke her sister free of containment, Skuld didn't bother with a scream, instead  
  
curling into a fetal position as she reassured herself of her existence.  
  
"Please Skuld, drama will just make this messier," Belldandy said patiently, "You've  
  
been a great help, since Kami-sama gave you codes that would have taken me years to unearth,  
  
not to mention my dear sweet Keichii." Belldandy gave the boy still slumped in the control chair  
  
a fond glance, before touching Skuld gently on the shoulder. Skuld jerked away reflexively.   
  
Belldandy sighed maternally, then yanked Skuld up by her hair.  
  
Skuld shrieked, the sound ringing painfully off the walls to the chamber, but Belldandy's  
  
expression didn't flicker as she countered the sound vibrations coming from Skuld's vocal cords,  
  
leaving Skuld loudly sighing. Belldandy's free hand twisted into another gesture and the tip of  
  
her index finger started to glow. "Please relax Skuld, and this will be over that much more  
  
quickly," assured Belldandy.  
  
Keichii stirred as ancient traditions and ingrained habits set about kicking his psyche back  
  
awake at the sound of a girl's cry of distress. In a match between conscience and shock, memory  
  
problems, a psychotic Belldandy, and possibly being dead didn't stand a chance. Keichii's eyes  
  
flew open. "Skuld?" he asked in amazement.   
  
Belldandy's paused, glowing fingernail a scant centimeter from Skuld's emblem. Skuld,  
  
her legs under her again on reflex, stared cross-eyed in terror at the finger. "Keichii dear, please  
  
go back to sleep," she said soothingly. "Just a few more minutes and this nightmare's going to  
  
be over."  
  
"So you can replace it with another one?" Keichii asked. "That girl was right, wasn't  
  
she?" he continued softly, observing the screens and harp-like interfaces, blanching slightly as he  
  
saw the man hanging from it. "I know a computer lab when I see one, Belldandy. This can't be  
  
the kind goddess I know. My Bell never had this sort of anger, even towards her worst enemies."   
  
The engineering student's eyes pointed downwards, before finishing, "Even towards an immature  
  
idiot who pulled her away from heaven."   
  
Belldandy's head sagged a little at that, but she still held Skuld. "Heaven was with you,  
  
Keichii," she said, weakly, "and I killed it. It was so selfish of me, but... my world broke, and  
  
then I broke yours." Bell brightened, "I'm good at fixing things, and I always swore to guard you  
  
with my life Keichii, and that's what it came down to. A duel to the death between the old order  
  
and myself. I won't let your wish end and your dreams die, Keichii," she said, voice starting to  
  
rise in pitch, "Not like this, never like this!" Eyes focused venomously on Skuld.  
  
"Belldandy, stop! I can't let you do this! I admit I'm not quite up on all the procedures,  
  
but would an eternity here be so bad? I can't let you hurt anyone else and lose yourself more. If  
  
you touch that girl... I'm going to try and stop you," he warned.  
  
Belldandy giggled at that, and explained, "Keichii, I know you've put up with a lot, but  
  
this area is far more complex dimensionally then your eyes are letting you see. You're stuck here  
  
as you were, never to actually struggle and achieve your potential, a tiny loop repeating in a great  
  
mesh. Yes, this echo would've been happy, but there's so much to be done and improved upon!"   
  
With that, Bell tapped her finger against Skuld's emblem. There was a quick flash, like a  
  
static bolt only larger, as something was exchanged. Bell dropped Skuld and staggered for a  
  
moment, before starting to move towards the command console. A gesture, and the shuttle and  
  
mini-loom by Keichii started to weave. The world-tree groaned for a moment, creaking slightly  
  
as the universe shuddered as Bell's commands started to be entered.   
  
"You see Keichii?" Bell said, sounding distant, "That's it for the lockouts, and the  
  
temporal system is starting up, well, shutting down to be more accurate. It'll all be over, all the  
  
pain ever, in just a few moments. You'll be free to live again, and I with you-" Bell was cut off  
  
as a blast of fire struck her in the back.  
  
Bell whirled around to see Urd back on her feet, smoke rising from an outstretched palm.   
  
"I don't think so sis," Urd said quietly. "You're good. I mean, you ARE a goddess first-class,  
  
but trying to rewrite existence would just leave everyone else stuck in on themselves." Bell  
  
gawked at Urd, who faked surprise. "Oh come on, you don't think with your concentration  
  
spread between so many things, I couldn't manage to get to my feet. Don't forget, I am the  
  
mighty Urd!" Urd laughed imperiously, raising a hand to her mouth and getting her diaphragm  
  
into it.   
  
Belldandy's composure was starting to crack. "Do you really think, dear sister, that you  
  
could possibly win against me? I've seen your code... there's no way you could work fast  
  
enough AND safely enough to stop it at this stage, assuming you could even get past me to the  
  
console. The time portal will be forming in a few moments, and then I can reweave fate."  
  
Urd tapped her lip for a moment, looking worried. Then she brightened, "I may flub this,  
  
but there's someone in here who can!" She pointed dramatically at Keichii, standing by the main  
  
console, who took a step backwards in shock.  
  
Bell laughed, "Keichii's many things Urd, but he's never been fantastic with computers."  
  
"So?" Urd said, casting a spell. "Who said anything about my reaching the console or  
  
Keichii needing to know what he's doing? Though the boy HAS been quick today," she said,  
  
quickly aside before finishing the spell, "Urd Remote Body-Control!" The bronze-skinned  
  
goddess's fingers wiggling as she pulled someone else's strings. Keichii urked and, stumbling  
  
forward, started to work the console.   
  
Bell shrieked in dismay, and, with a gesture cut the spell out, but the healing had been  
  
done. She spun towards Urd and raised a hand in fury, which glowed with energy as Bell  
  
prepared her attack, but Urd waggled a finger in warning. "You might want to save that for  
  
dealing with the boss, Sis. I guess with ALL the lockouts being disabled, you might have a  
  
chance, but then again, I'd NEVER have managed that code if you didn't spend a year ripping the  
  
security structure out. Hoisted by your own petard, eh? Keichii, I'd advise getting under some  
  
cover. There's about to be a bit of a light show" Urd said with a cocky grin.  
  
Bell grimaced, and flicked a finger. The universe wavered around Urd, who fell asleep as  
  
Bell rerouted the molecules of Urd's eardrums to vibrate to a polka beat. She gave the core of  
  
Yggdrasil a glance. Cables started to pull away from their host and retreat to their panels, leaving  
  
a line of sap as they cut open the tortured computer. Kami-sama started to stir, an action  
  
heralded as a crackling of energy formed into a rough sphere in front of Bell, cutting off her view  
  
of Skuld. A gap in the middle of the contained electrical storm showed the shattered remnants of  
  
a large home. Several long-haired figures were arrayed on the wreckage, behind which could be  
  
seen a traditional Japanese temple. Nothing in the scene moved yet. Belldandy smiled and  
  
summoned a staff from the air, beginning to trace a circular ward around the structure in glowing  
  
lines.  
  
The circle had just met itself when the air above it crackled with energy. Bell looked up  
  
at the Sysadmin of Creation and smiled. Kami-sama, despite several visible wounds that oozed  
  
slightly from Bell's cracking procedure, smiled and bowed gracefully.  
  
  
  
"You caught me by surprise the last time, Belldandy, and if you've learned anything since  
  
taking this course, it's that no one can keep their defenses up all of the time," the Lord of Heaven  
  
said warningly, firing off a few more energy bolts.  
  
"I've more power now... and I'm defending my love! How can you hope to match that in  
  
the short time you have?" Belldandy said.  
  
"The truth... logic, fear for that which is my responsibility," Kami-sama replied evenly,  
  
"You can not maintain the universe by will alone. The superstring is already present at this  
  
point. The universe will resist attempts to change it strongly. This is not the first time it has  
  
been tried. Generally, the universe tends to behave normally except for the part that is being  
  
looked at. The people will still be dead, Belldandy, no matter how hard you think them to  
  
move."  
  
"I know that... but I'm not just reweaving time. Replacing mass tends to cause enough  
  
bugs that you can slip things around. I can stop the second bolt, Lord," she said mockingly, "And  
  
that's your one shot."  
  
"True," he said sadly, "But I hoped there was more of the goddess who held such promise  
  
left. Without that-" Kami-sama was cut off as Keichii spoke.  
  
"Belldandy... what about the Lord of Terror?" Keichii asked, stepping forward now that  
  
the pyrotechnics were done, eyes locked on the scene growing in the rift. "You can't just patch  
  
one of these things. That's what you've told me. The Urd-approach just isn't going to work."  
  
Belldandy looked stricken. "But Keichii... what else can I do but to try? I don't have the  
  
computer experience of my sisters, and I'm not letting you die!"  
  
Keichii sighed. "Silly... the old Belldandy had the right idea in this situation. You need  
  
to protect the people you love and hold them close. We had almost won Bell, I remember that  
  
much. If you change anything... please hold onto what we had, and remember everyone else."  
  
"I don't-" the goddess of the present started before looking into Keichii's eyes. They had  
  
pain in them, but so much of the warmth she remembered... but the compassion and mercy she  
  
had shoved aside. She looked down at her hands for a moment, and tottered on her feet.   
  
"Keichii... I don't know what to do anymore," she whispered. She looked into her love's eyes.   
  
"I"ve done this but-"  
  
"I know Belldandy. I don't care about that. I believe in you. We can still fix this,"  
  
Keichii said encouragingly.   
  
Belldandy's eyes cleared. "No, we can't. I think I know who can though." Belldandy  
  
looked up at Kami-sama and smiled. "So did you all this time, didn't you?"   
  
The Holiest of Computer Geeks shrugged and smiled enigmatically. "I think it has a  
  
serious chance of succeeding. Love has conquered all, even me, here... so it has a chance in the  
  
past. It has a price though. Holding the timeline through someone else's presence will cost you  
  
a... piece of yourself," he warned.  
  
"If it's the piece that's done this," Belldandy sighed, "Then I think it's more than worth  
  
it." Belldandy walked around the rift, and bent down next to her younger sister, patting her on  
  
the cheek gently. "You've suffered so much through this, haven't you? You've always sold  
  
yourself short, dear sister, but I'm afraid I have to put some of the weight on you."  
  
"Wait... Belldandy, you're not shutting down the rift?" Keichii asked.   
  
Belldandy smiled, "No Keichii... things are too far gone for that. Why do you think we  
  
have a temporal control system? Sometimes things need to go back a bit and be done again. At  
  
least we assume so, since we have the system, and sometimes odds work out in our favor. It  
  
doesn't leave a lot of traces. So we need hope for the future as well as the past. Skuld has the  
  
training, and she has the outlook, and she's done so much that she should be the hero." With a  
  
soft, sad smile, Belldandy began weaving one last spell.   
  
Skuld rose off the ground, and the air rippled around her as time began to reweave.   
  
"Good-bye Keichii, and I hope hello." Skuld dropped into the rift... and then the universe started  
  
to unravel around the rift, in preparation for a new, unknown, and hopefully better future....  
  
*************  
  
Keichii awoke with a gasp, feeling as if someone had walked over his grave. He looked  
  
around his room at the temple desperately. Something felt out of place. Nothing looked out of  
  
place, however. The sunlight streamed cheerily into the temple, looking lovingly aged despite  
  
being rebuilt only a short time before. Keichii could just make out the gentle brushing noise as  
  
Belldandy cleaned up the yard of whatever debris had fallen during the night, as things had  
  
settled back into the general routine, more or less, though Belldandy seemed to be throwing  
  
herself even more into household chores than usual, if that was possible.   
  
Suddenly, the routine halted. Keichii could hear the broom clatter against the ground,  
  
before soft, but urgent, footsteps pounded through the house. The wall panel slid open to reveal  
  
Belldandy, looking beautiful even while worried. "Keichii, are you all right? I thought I felt  
  
something wrong!"  
  
Keichii blinked. This seemed odd for Belldandy somehow. Lately, after the robot duel,  
  
she'd seemed a bit muted. But really, it hadn't been that long ago when she'd been ever alert and  
  
active. "I don't think it's anything, Belldandy," he stammered with Bell's gaze on him. She  
  
sighed and started to close the panel. Keichi spoke up. "Wait!" Belldandy opened it again,  
  
looking harried. Keichii swallowed once and continued, "I don't have much in the way of  
  
classes today. Want to see if we can sneak away from the crowd and get a snack later? It seems  
  
we've just been so caught up lately..."   
  
Belldandy blinked once and smiled. "I'd like that very much, Keichii," she said happily.   
  
"Now, I'll go get breakfast ready. There's not a lot of time left before the day starts." Keichii  
  
nodded and Belldandy closed the door gracefully. Keichii leaned back for a moment and  
  
surveyed the room again, before starting out on the next day of the rest of his life.  
  
The End.  
  
Author's Notes: This has proven to take four times as long as I thought it would, and be a bit  
  
more painful to write. Ah well, at least it's done and off the checklist. That's good, because I'm  
  
emotionally wiped out.  
  
I'm sorry to note I used a literal deus ex machina to get the story finished, but that was basically  
  
intentioned from the beginning. Skuld NOT being on Earth was the problem. How to get her  
  
ON Earth. Well, this is OMG. Nothing is stronger than love, for better or worse. And at the  
  
end, better.  
  
Oh yes, and the end is a slight complaint on how Bell doesn't quite seem to be there as much  
  
after Lord of Terror, but we love it anyway, right kiddos? Please review with the usual  
  
complaints or concerns. 


End file.
